Amherst vs. Tufts Game Notes

LIVE COVERAGE
Saturday's game between Amherst and Tufts will feature a
free webcast (https://www.amherst.edu/athletics/jeffcast) and live
statistics (http://www3.amherst.edu/~sports/tas/xlive.htm).

THIS WEEK IN THE NESCAC

Middlebury (2-3) @ Trinity (4-1) - 12:30 p.m.

Bowdoin (1-4) @ Wesleyan (3-2) - 1 p.m.

Williams (5-0) @ Hamilton (1-4) - 1 p.m.

Colby (2-3) @ Bates (1-4) - 1 p.m.

THE SERIES
Amherst has posted a 49-26-4 record against Tufts dating back to
1877, but the Lord Jeffs are only 4-3 against the Jumbos since
2003. From 1999-2004 the average margin of victory was a mere 5.3
points, with the 2002 and 2003 matchups requiring overtime. Amherst
then cruised to wins of 37-6 and 24-6 in 2005 and 2006 before Tufts
pushed back with a 29-10 victory in 2007. The Jeffs have won the
past two meetings by a combined 17 points and this weekend will be
in search of the program's 50th win against the Jumbos.

LAST MEETING
Matt Rawson '12 kicked two 27-yard field goals and wide
receiver Brandon Bullock '10 caught a 6-yard touchdown pass
with 8:53 remaining in the game as Amherst emerged in what was a
strong defensive effort for both sides. The Jumbos finished the day
at -15 rushing yards thanks in no small part to Amherst linebacker
Mike Taylor '10, who had 16 tackles and forced two fumbles en
route to a NESCAC Co-Player of the Week honor. Tufts took a 3-0
lead in the opening quarter on a 44-yard field goal, but the Lord
Jeffs would tie the score in the second period and take a 6-3 lead
early in the fourth before punching in the game's only touchdown on
a 4th-and-goal situation.

AMHERST LAST TIME OUT
Alex Vetras '11 threw a career-high four touchdown
passes—two of which were caught by classmate Sean Legister
'11—to lead Amherst in a 37-10 win at Wesleyan. The
visitors put points on the board in each quarter, using a 30-0 run
to break away from what was only a 7-3 lead early in the second
period. The Jeffs held a 21-3 advantage at halftime before adding
10 points in the third and six in the fourth. Amherst's
offensive line paved the way for 176 rushing yards, with Femi
Oyalowo '11 leading the charge at 69 yards and a touchdown on
11 carries. The Amherst defense held Wesleyan to 253 yards of total
offense and the Cardinals were only 3-for-13 on third down
attempts.

TUFTS LAST TIME OUT
Senior Ryan Lupo rushed 39 times for 180 yards and four touchdowns
to lead Williams to a 35-24, come-from-behind victory at Tufts. The
host Jumbos scored with no time left in the second half to take a
17-14 lead into the locker room and returned a fumble for a
touchdown on the Ephs' first possession of the second half.
Williams would rally for three touchdowns—all scored by
Lupo—in less than a 10-minute span to earn the victory and
remain tied atop the NESCAC standings. In a game that featured 51
first downs and 840 yards of total offense, Tufts senior
quarterback Anthony Fucillo finished 25-of-47 for 264 yards and two
touchdowns.

KEYS TO THE GAME
Coming off what was arguably the best game of his career, Alex
Vetras '11 is on the verge of leaving yet another mark on the
Amherst College record book. Last week at Wesleyan Vetras set the
program's single-game record for completions (39) in only 51
attempts. This week he will look to become the program's
all-time leader in career passing yards, as he is only 124 shy of
breaking the previous mark of 4,837, which was set by Rich Willard
'98. Vetras is also only three touchdowns shy of tying the
school's single-season record of 16, which is shared by
Willard and three other Lord Jeffs.

It may seem like 124 yards will be a guarantee for Vetras this
weekend, but Tufts picked off the Amherst quarterback once and held
him to only 74 yards on 11-of-22 passing last year. The Jumbos
feature the NESCAC's third best pass defense (178.0 ypg) this
season thanks in large part to free safety Sam Diss '13, who
ranks second in interceptions (3) and third in passes defended (7),
with one of his picks being returned 74 yards for a touchdown. Diss
was named the conference's Defensive Player of the Week for
his performance at Williams, which included an interception and a
fumble recovery for a touchdown. Also standing out on defense has
been linebacker Ferras Albitar '12, whose 51 tackles are the
third most in the conference.

The Jumbos will be up against an Amherst receiving core that
features six players who have caught at least one touchdown this
year, with Brian Murphy '11 leading the way for the Jeffs.
After yet another stellar performance at Wesleyan, Murphy brought
his career totals to 100 receptions, 945 yards and nine touchdowns.
With three games to play, he is looking to become Amherst's
first receiver in at least 10 years to reach the 100-catch,
1,000-yard and 10-touchdown marks. Murphy has caught at least one
pass in 21 consecutive games, and this year leads the team in
receptions (29), yards (253) and TDs (3).

With Vetras picking defenses apart and each of Amherst's
top three running backs averaging at least 4.3 yards per carry,
opposing teams have looked helpless against the Lord Jeffs'
hurry-up offense. Eric Bunker '12 leads the team in rushing
yards per game (76.4), yards per carry (5.0) and touchdowns (5),
but Femi Oyalowo '11 and Ryan Silva '14 appear to be
peaking at the right time to give Amherst an incredible amount of
depth and variation. The running game has been Tufts'
Achilles' heel, as the Jumbos are last in the NESCAC in
rushing offense (46.8 ypg) and ninth in rushing defense (199.0
ypg). This has led to Tufts also ranking last in average time of
possession (21:58), well behind the rest of the conference pack.
Notably, Trinity ran for 294 yards and held the ball for 42:23,
while the Jumbos maintained possession for only 17:37.

Senior quarterback Anthony Fucillo and a veteran group of
receivers have been bright spots for Tufts, which ranks third in
the conference in passing offense (278.4 ypg). Fucillo has thrown
eight touchdowns and averages more than 275 yards per week, but he
has also been picked off eight times. Classmates Billy Mahler
'11 and Greg Stewart '11 rank sixth (64.4 ypg) and
eighth (62.0 ypg) in the NESCAC in receiving yards per contest,
while senior captain Pat Bailey and Dylan Haas '13 have
combined for 513 yards and four TDs. Amherst's defense,
however, has been shutting down the passing game as of late,
surrendering only 105 yards through the air against Colby and 130
at Wesleyan.

Tufts was leading at halftime in four of its first five games
but has only one win to show for it. The Jumbos are being
out-scored in the second half by a 60-21 margin and have yet to put
a point on the board in the fourth quarter of any game. After
opening the season with a 21-10 win over Hamilton, Tufts blew leads
of 20-12 against Bates, 12-0 at Bowdoin and 24-14 against Williams.
Tufts also trailed Trinity by only six points at the half, but the
Bantams scored the final 14 points of the game. The Jumbos have
traded punches with very good teams and are fully capable of
pulling off an upset this Saturday, but they cannot afford a
letdown at halftime. Should the Jeffs improve to 6-0, they would
tie the program record for longest winning streak (14), which was
set from 1983-85.